


The Hunter's Test

by cedalodon



Series: The Hunter and the Hunted [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Magic, Violence, Werecats, monster au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-24
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:08:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27699443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cedalodon/pseuds/cedalodon
Summary: Every Hunter needs to prove they can make it. For this purpose, there is a Hunters Test.Join Adrien as he takes his test with his strict examiner, Alya.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: The Hunter and the Hunted [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2023354
Comments: 16
Kudos: 33





	1. Begin the Trial

**Begin the Trial**

  
  


“Something's off about these tracks,” Adrien pointed out. 

“How so?” His companion, Alya, replied.  
  


After spending almost a month in the city, Adrien had finally gotten the chance to participate in a hunters exam. If he didn’t pass this, he wasn’t allowed to accompany Marinette on her hunts. So obviously, he was doing his best.

Adrien probably thought that he lucked out having Alya as his examiner. No other hunters were allowed to accompany them, and that meant Marinette wasn’t there.

So it was just Alya and him. And whilst he was trying his best to make the best out of this trial hunt, Alya had less innocent intentions. Adrien was happily following the tracks and explaining all his conclusions to his examiner.

When the examiners were chosen, Alya had volunteered to be his. Usually volunteers weren’t accepted when doing examinations. But Alya had a reputation for being… rather hard, on her examinees.

And Alya had sworn to go extra hard on this one. 

Adrien still hadn’t earned her trust yet. The guy just showed up one day and had lived with Marinette for the last month. And even if he was genuine, a partner is someone you can trust with your life. You have to know that they are not only willing, but also able to fight with you.

A team is only as strong as its weakest member, so alya had to make sure he passed the test before she allowed him to become a hunter.

“We have been following these hoof prints for quite some time now,” Adrien explained. “But they don’t seem right to me. It’s as if the horse was walking on two legs.”

“Good eye,” Alya had to admit. “Seems like you’re right. What conclusion does that lead to?”

“Demon-kin?” Adrien answered after a second. “A succubus maybe? No, the prints are too big. A minotaur.”

Alya nodded. He wasn’t wrong. 

Since Adrien didn’t receive an answer he continued on. “Minotaurs are usually found farther north, so this one must have gotten lost from his herd. He’s either trying to find his own herd again, or he decided to settle down momentarily.”

Alya was honestly surprised, “Have you been hunting before?” 

“No,” Adrien replied with a smile, “but Marinette taught me. I can’t read myself so Marinette teaches me, and we read monster encyclopedias from the library.” 

They continued following the tracks, stopping here and there when the tracks became harder to decipher.

“How did you meet Marinette anyway?” Alya asked quite bluntly. 

“Didn’t Marinette tell you?”

“I want to hear it from you.”

“Oh!” Adrien exclaimed. “She saved my life. The monster got me, and Marinette chased it off.” It wasn’t a lie. The monster had gotten him, and taken him under its control. He’d never let that happen again.

Alya noticed the smile on his face. “So, what monster was it?”

“A werecat,” Adrien replied without thinking.

“Minotaur-bullshit!” Alya replied. “Hey, I love my girl, but she can’t take on a werecat. She’d have done the smart thing and taken flight.” 

Why was he grinning like that? There was nothing funny about that!

(There is if you’re into puns.)

Alya was about to call him out on his weird behaviour when Adrien froze mid-step.

She was about to ask him what was wrong when she saw it.

No matter how often you have experienced it, you never get used to the sight of a bloodbath. 

The scene that was laid out before them was one of utter horror. You know, the usual monster attack site. The blood was still fresh and flowing out of the bodies; they couldn’t have been dead for long.

“What happened here?” Alya asked. It wasn’t a rhetorical question.

Adrien began to read the tracks as well as he could. He wasn’t bad at it, Alya had to admit. Marinette had taught him well.

“The minotaur came across some unfortunate travellers,” Adrien started. “It looks like he charged them from the side, aiming for the horses first so that they couldn’t get away. After he had dealt with the horses, he took on the guards. Judging by the shape of the dents in the guards' armor and the horses' cuts, he probably has an axe or another sharp weapon. They never stood a chance.”

He went to inspect the carriage that was thrown on its side. “To do this, he must be incredibly strong. There were goods and supplies inside of the carriage, merchants probably,” he surmised.

Adrien continued to inspect the carriage whilst Alya stood aside and watched. He really had a knack for this. She heard a gasp from the carriage and saw Adrien walk away with a scroll gripped tightly in his hand.

Alya approached him as he was looking around on the ground, “What’s wrong?” He just pushed the scroll at her. 

As Alya opened it, she saw a portrait of three people, a man, a woman and a boy. A family.

She took a closer look at the bodies. Two guards, a man who looked like the man from the portrait and the woman from the portrait. No child.

“Here are the footprints, and minotaur tracks just behind it.”

Adrien took off running with Alya right beside him.

They had to hurry!


	2. Doing what's right (not what's smart)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, hope you enjoy this chapter too <3

**Doing what's right (not what's smart)**

  
  


It was hard to follow tracks when in a hurry, but they couldn’t waste a single second. Someone’s life was on the line.

Adrien swore internally. If he could only transform, then he could easily follow the scent and maybe get there on time.

But Alya was with him.

He mustn’t. He mustn’t. He mustn’t!

A terrified scream broke through his thoughts. It was close.

But not close enough.

‘Screw it!’ Adrien thought to himself. “Catacly-

_ ‘That’s not it kid.’  _

Plagg? What was Plagg doing here? And why was he speaking in my mind again?

“What do you mean that’s not it?” Adrien asked, completely ignoring the weird look he got from Alya for talking to himself.

‘ _ I _ mean _ that's not it. That’s not how you activate your werecat form’  _ Plagg continued.  _ ‘Cataclysm is my power but that werecat form is yours!’ _

“If that wasn’t your power, what did the cataclysm do?”

_ ‘The chains.’ _

“Oh,” Adrien replied dummly as he remembered the chains as they corroded off his arms. “Then the werecat form was just a side effect?”

_ ‘You got it kid! My magic activated yours and you transformed. But you don’t need my magic to transform.’ _

“Then how do I?” Adrien asked, slightly on edge.

_ ‘Claws out.’ _

“Claws out?”

A wave of power swam over Adrien. This was it! This was exactly the power he remembered.

Load cracks split the air as Adriens bones broke and rearranged themselves to fit his new form. 

This was a lot more painful than he remembered.

His own screams mixed with the poor boy's until the pain stopped, leaving only Adrien's bated breath to fill the silence.

“Holy Kwami,” Alya gasped as she saw what Adrien had become, but the werecat paid her no attention. She watched as he took a deep breath, and his head turned toward a specific location deeper into the woods.

The werecat took off at many times the speed any human could ever achieve by foot.

  
  


\------

  
  


The minotaur growled. It was a deep, threatening sound, capable of making even the toughest hunter weak in the knees.

He wouldn’t even need the axe for this. He could simply stretch out his hand and grab the cornered boy before biting his head off.

In fact, that’s what he did.

...or, tried to do. 

Because before he could even lift his hand, a black figure crashed into his side. The last thing the minotaur ever saw was the furious grimace of a black-cat-devil and his eviscerated intestines hanging heavily upon his legs. 

The sight of being disembowelled in a brutal display of power was a sight so frightening that even a minotaur such as himself shat his pants.

Adrien’s sight fell on the frightened boy. 

The boy stared back, eyes opened unimaginably wide from fear and shock. 

To him, Adrien looked like a monster, a monster far worse than any minotaur.

At that moment, Alya made it to the scene. 

She saw Adrien’s frightening figure, hunched over the small boy. His face still deranged from the pain of transforming, though there was no way Alya could have known that. She just saw another deranged monster in front of a small boy and acted.

“Mirage!”


	3. Becoming a Hunter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I'm gonna say this beforehand..... I'm so sorry....

**Becoming a Hunter**

  
  


Adrien turned to look from where the shout came. 

Someone was charging towards him, a silver blade in each hand.

Alya.

Adrien didn’t want to fight Alya, he truly didn’t. But it seemed there was no reasoning with her now, and he couldn’t just take a hit. Those short swords looked nasty.

As Alya was getting close enough she jumped into the air and thrust her blades at him.

Adrien tried to claw his hand around her chest and keep her still until she calmed down and he could transform back.

But it never came to that because as he tried to get a grip on her, Alya dissolved into orange mist.

Adrien had but a second of confusion before he felt a sudden pain and his shoulders were pierced by two short silver swords. Alya had snuck up on him from behind as her mirage distracted him.

A claw got hold of her head and Alya was thrown forward by her hair and slammed into a tree.

The woman howled in pain as she hit the hard wood.

“Sorry!” Adrien called, “I didn’t mean to do that. But ouch these hurt!"

The two swords clattered as they hit the ground after Adrien pulled them out of his own shoulder.

“You!” Alya shouted in rage. “What the hell are you?!”

“I’m Adrien,” he pointed at himself. “A friend of Marinette and, hopefully, a hunter soon. I’m also a werecat.” He said that last part as if it was just a side comment.

  
  


\------

  
  


It was a long way back to the city. 

Long and awkward. 

Alya had refused Adrien's attempts to help her walk and was now stumbling alongside him on her wounded foot.

Adrien wasn’t faring much better himself. He had transformed back to his human form, but his shoulders were still injured. 

It wasn’t life threatening, but it hurt a lot.

The boy they had saved, Chris, was walking with them. He hadn’t talked much, just agreed to be taken back to the city where his brother lived. 

As soon as they entered the city gates another problem arose. Chris didn’t know where his brother lived. 

"What can you remember about your brother's home?" Alya asked gently. All she got from the boy in reply was a shug. This was going to be much more difficult than she anticipated.

Luck was on their side for once as a young man around their age emerged from the crowd calling, “Chris!” and soon he enveloped the boy in a hug.

“I thought you were supposed to arrive two days from now! And who are these people- wait! Are you hurt?!” 

Adrien recognised the man, Nino, who was one of the most accomplished healers in the city and another friend of Marinette. 

“What happened?” Nino asked his little brother. 

The boy who had been so still all this time, who had faced horrors beyond his comprehension and still clung to life, finally broke. 

Loud sobs and wails could be heard across the marketplace, catching the attention of many passersby. 

“Let’s head home,” Nino concluded as he picked up his little brother and headed towards his house. “Alya, Adrien, you come along, too. I’ll patch you guys up.”

The two followed close behind as Nino carried his brother.

“You pass.”

“What?” Adrien asked, perplexed.

“You pass,” Alya said a little clearer.

“Congratulations on becoming a hunter, Adrien. Happy hunting.”

Adrien's eyes fell on Nino’s back, Chris’s cries ringing in his ears.

“Yeah,” He replied. “Happy hunting.”


	4. Good Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright y'all, last chapter of this journey. But stay put, because there's more! (so much more. Help! My writing has taken over!)
> 
> Tomorrow is gonna be another oneshot! And on Saturday we'll start the next story arc, so if you haven't yet, subscribe to the series and enjoy. :)

**Good Night**

  
  


“I’m gonna head home.” Adrien announced after Nino was done treating his wounded shoulder. “Marinette is probably wondering where I am right now. Thanks for the help Nino”   
  
“No worries dude. Thanks for saving my little bro.” Nino gave Adrien a forced smile as he left. 

Adrien’s stomach dropped a little further. If only he had been faster.

Today had been a success and a failure. But the failure drowned out the success thoroughly.

“There you are!” A voice broke through his thoughts as he saw Marinette approach him with quick steps. “Where have you been? I was worried!” 

“I was at Nino’s,” Adrien pointed at his shoulder, “he fixed me up.”

“What happened? How is Alya? I knew I should have come with you guys!”

“The rules forbid it though. Besides, I’m fine and so is Alya for the most part.”

“And the test?”

“I passed.”

“That’s great! Congratu- Adrien?”

“Yes?”

“What’s wrong?”

Marinette caught Adrien’s eyes. Gooosebumps traveled down her back as she saw his expression. She knew that expression.

“It’s not easy being a hunter, Is it?”

  
  


\------

  
  


After Adrien left the tension became unbearable. Neither Alya nor Nino said a single word.

Nino had put Chris to bed where the boy cried himself to sleep. 

“How are you doing?” Alya broke the silence.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” Nino replied.

“I’m gonna be fine Nino. You’re the best healer we have and I trust you.” Alya explained. “But how are you doing?”

“I’m keeping it together, for Chris’s sake. He needs me right now.”

Alya nodded. She understood him all too well. 

Before he knew what happened Alya had snuck a hand around his shoulders and pulled him into a side hug as they sat on the bench beside each other. 

It didn’t take long for Nino’s head to rest on Alya’s shoulder.

“I’ll be here for you.” 

Alya felt something drip onto her shoulder. A tear.

“Thank you, Al”

“Of course love.”

  
  


\-------

  
  


“Oh no. Poor Nino!”

“Yeah,” Adrien replied, “and Chris.”

Adrien had just finished telling Marinette about the day's events. 

They had skipped dinner entirely because neither was feeling hungry. The sun had already set by the time they reached their room and Adrien just fell right onto his bed.

But sleep never came. 

“Is it always like this?” Adrien finally asked after countless attempts to sleep.

“No,” Marinette answered right away. She couldn’t sleep either. “You cannot save everyone.”

“I could have if I had been faster or had tracked it down earlier. I could have killed the minotaur and-”

“Stop it!” Marinette had never spoken to him in such a harsh tone before. Adrien winced a little. 

“Marinette?”

“Just stop it! The ‘what ifs’ and ‘maybes’ aren’t gonna do you any good. You can’t change what happened okay? So just stop it.”

Adrien knew he shouldn’t have. He knew it was a stupid idea. But he had to ask.

“Did you…. ever fail to protect someone?”

It was like a sheet of ice had settled over the room. 

“I’m sorry,” Adrien stumbled over his words. “I didn’t mean to-”

“Yes,” Marinette broke through his rambling. “Yes, I failed to protect people, on more than one occasion. But that’s why I became a hunter, to grow stronger and protect the people who are dear to me.”

Adrien was stunned. He hadn’t expected that. He knew he shouldn’t dig any further though. 

He didn’t want to strain what little luck he had.

“Good night Adrien.” Marinette ended their conversation, something for which Adrien was slightly thankful.

“Good night, Marinette.”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Once again, thank you very much for reading! Big thank you to elsie_noir!
> 
> I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.


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